Private Crazy Rich Jedi

[Xian Xiao]

Xian slowed when Noriko stopped, boots easing to a halt midway across the bridge. She followed her master's gaze down into the valley, and for a long moment, she didn't say anything at all.

It was… a lot.

The kind of view that made her chest feel tight, not from fear, but from scale. From realizing how small a single person was against something that old and untouched. The mist curling through the trees far below, the river cutting its patient path, the peaks hemming the valley in like a secret the galaxy had forgotten how to reach. It didn't feel like a place meant to be conquered or ruled. It felt like a place meant to endure.

When Noriko spoke about family, about tens of thousands housed within the palace, Xian finally shifted her weight and folded her arms loosely, grounding herself against the cold air and the vertigo that still whispered at the edge of her senses.

"…That's hard to imagine," she admitted quietly. "Not the size. The continuity."

She glanced up at Noriko then, really looked at her, at the ease in her posture and the way she belonged in this height and this space as if the mountains themselves had shaped her stride.

"Most places I've been," Xian continued, choosing her words carefully, "families scatter. Wars, borders, politics, Orders. People leave, or get reassigned, or disappear. You're always told it's necessary. That it's part of serving something bigger."

Her gaze drifted back to the valley, softer now.

"This feels… different. Like the land actually remembers who lives here."

She huffed a small breath, something almost like a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"And for the record," she added, casting Noriko a sideways look, "I am fully believing the half about you being awesome. The other half, I'm reserving judgment on until I survive the rest of today."

She shifted her stance, steady again, and nodded once toward the path ahead.

"But I'm glad you brought me here," Xian said, quietly sincere. "Even if you're absolutely going to make a terrible joke about getting high at some point."

A beat.

"I can feel it coming."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko looked at her as she moved. "There are nine palaces to the family on Atrisia alone and dozens across the galaxy. Each clan of the family is related by blood but they have adopted and before Matsu made Sasori we always maintained a trade empire that functioned... now we just have a multi-trillion credit corporation we are able to feed into and get a powerful return on. The continued improvements of the palaces here on the planet show that and we are able to have many more." She said it while walking though with a smile and the bridge itself dipped into stairs leading down the spiral of a mountain. Overhangs showing vines and inverted towers carved into the stalagmites.

"Plus think of it like this a family that can date itself back near one billion years is going to have a lot of room to grow and expand and that is before you count schisms in the past like what drove some off to emberlene or tython, made some families go and find other worlds they could be on and not part of the family until much much later." She was looking over all of it and moving aas the inverted towerrs showed birds and monkey like creatures. Noriko descending the stairs a the airr shifted from cold to cool to humid and heavier. "Hmmm this is the good stuff all of that oxygen, heat to make you sweat and things to chase you so you have to run."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian followed a step behind, boots careful on the spiraling stone as the air thickened and warmed around them, each breath heavier than the last. She listened as Noriko spoke, really listened, but the scale of it kept slipping past anything she had a frame of reference for. Nine palaces. Dozens more beyond the planet. A family that measured its history in geological time rather than generations.

For a long moment, she didn't say anything at all.

Then she let out a quiet breath that might have been a laugh, more disbelief than humor.

"I keep thinking I understand what you're saying," Xian admitted, eyes drifting over the inverted towers and living stone carved into the mountain's interior. "And then you add another zero. Or another millennium. And my brain kind of… gives up and starts over."

She glanced at Noriko briefly before looking back out again, as if admitting the thought made her feel oddly exposed.

"I didn't grow up with any of this," she continued, more softly. "No family history. No lineage. No one told stories about where we came from." Her shoulders lifted in a slight, helpless shrug. "I was just…there. Coruscant doesn't really let you belong to anything unless you carve it out yourself."

As the air grew warmer and more humid, Xian flexed her fingers unconsciously, adjusting to the sensation, to the way the environment pressed back instead of thinning away.

"So standing here," she said, choosing her words carefully, "listening to you talk about a family that's older than most civilizations I've ever read about…It's strange." Not bitter. Just honest. "It's like realizing some people are born into gravity wells, and others spend their whole lives drifting until they find something to orbit."

Her gaze followed the movement of birds and climbing creatures among the vines below.

"I'm still getting used to the idea that I'm even allowed this close to something like that," Xian added. "Not as a guest. Not as a footnote. Just…here."

She shook her head once, a faint smile appearing despite herself.

"I don't feel like nobility," she said plainly. "I feel like someone who's spent most of her life surviving, and is now trying to learn what it means to stand somewhere without waiting to be chased off."

Her eyes sharpened again, curiosity winning out over uncertainty.

"But I'm not running," Xian said. "Even if I don't know where all the pieces fit yet."

The smile lingered, small but real.

"So I guess I'm learning," she finished. "One impossible mountain at a time."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

SHe gave a nod of her head to that. "I can understand that Xian, you have taken your firs steps into a larger world and family and also possibly realized that now you can encounter any number of family members throughout the galaxy who will tell the family what you do good or bad deed wise... so if you think me your master won't know what you are doing... you will be really wrong." She said it. "You are also realizing that now when you encounter atrisians in the galaxy and if they are laughing and briefly look your way they might just be realizing who you are as family and all of their whispers and conversations are about you."

Noriko said it as she came to the bottom of the stairs leading into the jungle and the beautiful pathways that went through the trees. The kazue stone made to last as it was interlocked to appear solid. "But don't worry, we aren't giving you over to the family matchmakers yet. We haven't done large scale political marriages for decades maybe centuries but hey you never know." She nodded to that while going. "You might also see men and women in the jungle working or meditating or even just walking so don't be scared they are family. Just enjoy it all." Noriko said it as she was skipping for the moment down the pathways where they could go over with a few other parts of it leading to the palaces.

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian slowed slightly as they stepped off the last of the stairs and onto the kazue-lined jungle path, the shift in air and sound grounding her even as Noriko's words settled in. The idea of being seen like that, tracked not by sensors or records but by people who might recognize her by blood alone, was still strange enough that she had not quite found a place to set it in her mind.

She listened. She always did.

But at the mention of matchmakers, her reaction was immediate and unmistakable.

Her steps faltered just a fraction, and she turned her head sharply toward Noriko, dark eyes wide with something between disbelief and horror, as if the very concept had physically recoiled her.

"No," Xian said at once, the word firm, clear, and entirely unamused.

She shook her head emphatically as if that might banish the idea from the air itself. "No. Absolutely not. That is not happening." Her brows knit together, not in anger, but in the fierce certainty of a thirteen-year-old who had decided something was final. "I am not getting married. Ever. Not now, not later, not as some political thing, not as anything."

She took a breath, then added, more measured but no less serious, "I'm still figuring out who I am. I barely figured out where I belong. I'm not…signing my life away to anyone. Especially not people I don't even know."

The jungle seemed to gently swallow the moment, birds calling overhead, leaves rustling as the path curved forward. Xian resumed walking, shoulders squaring as she settled herself again, though the determination stayed written plainly across her posture.

"I get the family thing," she said after a beat, quieter now, thoughtful rather than defensive. "I really do. And I don't mind being…known. Or watched. That part I can learn to live with."

She glanced at Noriko again, just briefly.

"But I need you to understand this," Xian continued. "I'm thirteen. I'm your padawan. I'm here to train, to learn, to survive, and to figure out how to be a good person in a galaxy that doesn't make that easy." Her lips pressed together, then softened. "That's all I'm thinking about. Anything beyond that is…way too far away to matter."

She looked ahead at the winding paths, the glimpses of Atrisians moving among the trees, and let out a small, almost embarrassed huff of breath.

"So," she finished, a hint of dry humor creeping in despite herself, "if anyone is whispering about me, I really hope it's not about weddings. Because that would be deeply, deeply uncomfortable."

Then, quieter, more grounded, she added, "I just want to learn how to stand on my own first."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko looked at her. "Yes... I know that is why I said we weren't going to." She said it looking at her and brought a hand out to flick the side of herr head at the red hair. "Listen to the whole thing not just the parts you are looking to react to." Noriko said it looking aat her as the path emerged from the dense thicketed pathway of the ancient valley. Gnarled trees some with twisted, bare branches like silent sentinels, others adorned with fresh spring leaves in vivid emerald the terrain transitions to smooth, weather polished kazue stone, cool and slick beneath the feet from perpetual mist. The air thickening with the steady, resonant roar of falling water, accompanied by a crisp, mineral freshness that mingles with the subtle earthy scent of moss and distant blossoms.

The grand structure rises as a masterful fusion of architecture and nature: a towering, multi-tiered edifice carved into the sheer cliff face, crowned by a majestic domed temple of dark, etched stone. Intricate geometric carvings adorn its surface, partially reclaimed by trailing vines and thick moss, while a small spire-like lantern pierces the dome's apex. From this height, luminous azure waters spill over sculpted ledges, forming a series of cascading waterfalls that descend in deliberate tiers slender veils at the top widening into powerful sheets below, each guided by broad stone platforms and outcrops that evoke the remnants of an ancient sanctuary. Noriko was moving as she looked at Xian though with a grin on her face. "See I am awesome, I take you to the best places."

Midway down the terraces, the falls illuminate hidden alcoves and crevices with their ethereal glow, casting shimmering reflections on the rock. At the base, the waters gather into a serene, mirror-smooth pool ringed by massive boulders and clusters of delicate pink wildflowers. Ornate stone fountains rise here, their pedestals crowned with radiant blue orbs that propel gentle upward jets, scattering light like floating jewels. The air of the falls and detached palace dominates in cool blues and teals, accented by the vibrant greens of renewal, with soft sunlight beams piercing the mist to form halos around the cascades. Noriko was able to see some more parts of it going forward.. where she could lead them though and along the pathway itself.

In one of the lower terraced pools a shallow, circular basin carved into the stone platform just above the main pool two striking female figures immerse themselves in the glowing waters. Both possess lithe yet curved forms, their skin glistening with droplets that catch the azure luminescence. Elaborate traditional tattoos cover their bodies in intricate patterns of dragons, koi, and floral motifs, extending from shoulders down arms and across torsos in bold black ink with subtle shading. Long dark hair, styled in elegant updos adorned with ornamental hairpins and subtle accents, frames their sharp, alluring features. They sit close together on the pool's edge, partially submerged to the waist, one leaning intimately against the other in a pose of relaxed companionship, their expressions serene yet confident amid the tranquil flow.

The encompassing cliffs rise steeply on all sides, their jagged, weathered faces layered with clinging vines, patches of resilient moss, and scattered clusters of vibrant spring foliage that soften the stark rock. Deep crevices and overhanging ledges create shadowed recesses where mist lingers, while distant misty valleys unfold beyond the rims, shrouded in layers of pale blue haze that hint at endless, unexplored depths. This natural amphitheater amplifies the site's ancient feel of paradise, enclosing the glowing waterfalls in a vast, bowl-like embrace that evokes timeless seclusion. Noriko could take in more and she did miss this cause there were hundreds of detached palaces in the valley, throughout the jungle. Places of enjoyment for ssmallerr groupings of the clans that lived and had served in the past for not being all concentrated in one place.

Upon a nearby ruined archway a weathered remnant of carved stone pillars partially collapsed and overgrown with trailing ivy stands a lone observer, her graceful form providing poignant scale against the monumental architecture. She is a strikingly beautiful woman of South Atrisian descent, with rich, warm brown skin that gleams subtly in the diffused ethereal light. Almond shaped eyes witha jeweled bindi frramed by her long, dark hair cascading in loose waves over one shoulder, framing a poised three-quarter profile as she turns slightly, gazing upward with quiet contemplation. Traditional gold jewelry adorns her: intricate jhumka earrings that catch faint glimmers, a delicate nose ring, and stacked bangles on her wrists. Her attire consists of a low-draped saree in deep, patterned fabric that clings elegantly to her figure, leaving her back and midriff exposed in a pose of serene confidence.

In her hand, she holds an ignited lightsaber, its humming blade casting a vivid emerald glow that contrasts sharply with the surrounding azure luminescence. She moves it with deliberate grace sweeping slow, controlled arcs through the mist-laden air as if practicing ancient forms or warding the sacred space sending fleeting reflections dancing across the wet stone and rippling waters below, adding a dynamic pulse of energy to her watchful stance amid the tranquil grandeur. The observers in the pool watching and clapping as their discarded robes showed the silver hilt of lightsabers and they turned to look at Noriko as they waved their hands... voices coming in unison. "Cousin." THey spoke but didn't get out as the woman practicing her movements slowed for a moment and bowed her head continuing.

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian flinched instinctively at the flick to her head, more surprised than hurt, and shot Noriko a look that was half indignant and half sheepish before she caught herself. She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again, jaw tightening as she replayed the words in her head.

"…Okay," she said after a beat, the edge fading from her voice as she exhaled. "That one's on me."
Her shoulders lifted and fell in a small, conceding shrug. "I heard the scary part and skipped ahead. I'll try to… listen all the way through next time."

As the path opened and the valley revealed itself, whatever argument might have followed simply dissolved.

Xian slowed without meaning to.

The sound of the waterfalls hit her first, low and constant, vibrating in her chest like something alive. Then the mist, cool against her skin, carried that clean, mineral scent that made her feel as if she'd just stepped into another world entirely. Her dark eyes tracked upward, taking in the carved terraces, the glowing water, the way stone, jungle, and architecture all blurred together until it was hard to tell where one ended, and the other began.

"Oh," she breathed, the word barely louder than the falls themselves.

She turned in a slow circle, taking it in piece by piece, the pools, the vines, the light scattering through the mist like it had weight. The people didn't unsettle her so much as they grounded the place, made it real instead of some implausible story. Her gaze lingered briefly on the woman practicing with the lightsaber, the controlled arcs, the calm confidence in every movement.

Xian straightened a little at that, something quiet and thoughtful settling behind her eyes.

"This…" she said finally, voice low with awe rather than defiance now, "yeah. Okay. I get why you brought me here."

She glanced back at Noriko, a reluctant smile tugging at her mouth despite herself.

"And fine," she added, conceding just enough to be fair. "You are kind of awesome."

Then, more seriously, her eyes drifting back to the falls and the temple carved into the cliff, she said, "It feels old. Not in a scary way. Just…like it remembers things." Her fingers curled lightly at her side, the Force brushing her awareness without effort. "I don't feel watched here. I feel…allowed."

She hesitated, then admitted quietly, "I've never been anywhere like this. I didn't know places like this were real."

After a moment, she tipped her head toward the figures who had called out to Noriko, curiosity edging back in now that the initial overwhelm had settled.

"So," Xian added, softer, more herself again, "are all your cousins this intimidating, or is today just special?"

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko huffed as she spoke. "THey are your cousins too Xian." She said it while walking and the pools were there as she looked a the two who were there. A wave. "cousins." She looked up at the one training on the arch with her saber. "Unaga." She waved but had a look before turning towards Xian. "That is a family name, you'll find a lot of family members have it. The legendary first member of the family who forged a blade from the heart of a fallen star." She saaid it and the others grinned. "It is known." Laughs ensured from all of them as the third came down with her saber deactivating when she spoke. Her voice resonating and deeper but no less smooth. "Alright, be nice to the young one. Family is family no matter how new or small."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian slowed a fraction when Noriko said it.

Not stopping outright, not freezing in place, but enough that the words had time to land properly instead of sliding past her. Her eyes moved from the pools to the women gathered there, to the one descending from the arch with her lightsaber dimming, and back again. Cousins. The word still felt strange in her mouth, heavy in a way she had not learned how to carry yet.

She gave a small, instinctive nod in return to the wave, posture straightening out of reflex rather than confidence. When Noriko explained the name, the story behind it, Xian listened closely, filing it away with the kind of care she used for things that mattered, even if she did not fully understand them yet. A blade from the heart of a fallen star. Legendary. Ancient. Bigger than anything she had ever had a claim to before.

When the laughter rippled through the space, she did not join it, but she did not shrink from it either. Her gaze lingered on Unaga for a moment longer than the others, curiosity tempered by respect, then she dipped her head slightly when the woman spoke, a gesture learned from observation rather than upbringing.

"Yes, ma'am," Xian said quietly, voice steady but unmistakably young. "I will."

She hesitated, then added, honest rather than polished, her eyes lifting again to meet the group instead of the ground.

"I am still…getting used to the idea," she admitted. "I did not grow up knowing where I came from. So this is a lot to take in all at once."

Her shoulders rose and fell in a controlled breath, grounding herself the way she had been taught.

"But I am trying," Xian continued. "And I do want to learn. About the family. About what it means."

She glanced briefly toward Noriko, not for permission, but reassurance, then looked back to the others.

"And I will be respectful," she finished simply. Not as a promise meant to impress, but as a statement of intent.

She had not said "cousin" aloud yet.

But she stayed where she was, present, attentive, and very clearly not running away from the weight of it, even if it still sat awkwardly on her shoulders.

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko looked at her and walked over putting an arm around her shoulder. "See you guys, she cool she cool a little short, doesn't get out hip lingo and understand our talk but she learnin it." Noriko nodded her head as the twins looked down hiding their faces to laugh and Unaga walked more to look at Noriko. "Cousin you are going to confuse her more... which is saying something. Just let her enjoy herself and have her own pace." She said it while walking. "Come now." She walked with ehr hands behind her back while she was going forward. "The detached palaces are some of the most beautiful. Hundreds were built for various reasons and they still serve to this day."

She continued to walk while giving a small idea and Noriko listened. "The Seito Palace though is still further way we are in one of several valleys that forms the protective areas of it. Aside from the mountains and rivers there are smaller canyons and valleys one can get lost in while trrying to reach the palace in the clouds. The pathways above you saw only reach so far and then circle the mountain itself same as the underground rivers we have carved over millions of years and countless generations." Her head turned back to look. "It might be new and overwhelming but the galaxy is a large place, we are still only a single aspect of it."

She kept going at the trees opened to show more structures off in the distance if you looked. "Each palace could have been for anything, a mistress, a lover, a family wanting to build on their own, a teenager wanting to show they could do their own thing, trraining as a force user or a soldier. The reasons for the construction varied, as many as mountains on Atrisia." Now she was smiling while she looked over some of it. "But all of it came backt ot he same thing, family, each a single strand and when brought together we become more." She said it while looking at Noriko. "So what was your plan little cousin?" Noriko looked at her. "Training, family and I got a message to say hi to my mother." There waas a look. "Oh!"

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian let out a small breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when Noriko's arm came around her shoulders. She didn't pull away, but she did stiffen for half a second out of pure reflex, the kind that came from growing up where closeness was earned carefully, not assumed. Then she relaxed, just a little, allowing herself to be guided along with them.

Her eyes moved constantly as they walked, taking in the terraces, the distant structures half-hidden by mist and foliage, a sense of history layered so thick it felt as if the land itself were watching her back. It was beautiful, yes, but also immense in a way that made her feel very small and very seen at the same time.

At Unaga's words, Xian's mouth curved into a faint, grateful smile. She dipped her head slightly in acknowledgment, more instinct than formality.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I think…I'm still figuring out where my feet are supposed to go."

As they continued, listening to the explanation of the palaces, the valleys, the paths meant to mislead and protect, Xian's expression softened into something thoughtful. Overwhelmed, yes, but not afraid. Curious. Cautious. Trying to hold all of it without letting it spill.

"I've never seen a place that wears its history so openly," she admitted after a moment. "Where growing up, things were built fast and torn down faster. If you wanted to understand the past, you had to dig for it. Here…" She gestured subtly to the stone, the trees, the distant palaces. "It feels like the past is still walking beside you."

When Unaga spoke of family as strands woven together, Xian glanced between her and Noriko, something earnest flickering in her dark eyes.

"I don't know all the rules yet," she said honestly. "Or the language. Or where I fit in all of this." A brief pause, then, more firmly. "But I'm willing to learn. At my own pace."

Her gaze settled on Noriko then, steady but not defiant, just clear.

"And training sounds good," Xian added. "Family too. I just…might need a moment now and then to breathe and remember I'm still me."

It wasn't a rejection. It was a boundary spoken gently, the way someone spoke when they wanted to stay rather than run.

She took another step forward with them, choosing to keep walking.

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko looked at her for a moment and frowned. "Well of course you are you... I am me, she is she. Silly Xian. No one can take away who you are... well except empires they do like their uniformity and drones... or the darkside cause then all are made to serve the strong... but no one else can take who you are. Just because you gained a family, a master, an awesome granddaughter in me, a few gray hairs, access to vast amounts of credits since I gave you Xor-Jan's credit card to match mine." She said it with a shake of her head while she was walking a little ways and Unaga looked at Noriko with a laugh. "Just walk like normal one foot in front of the other." She turned and was walking as the pathway down through the valley and areas was beautiful.

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian slowed for half a step, just long enough for Noriko's words to actually land.

Her confusion didn't vanish. The idea of family like this, so loud, so certain, so casually vast, still felt unreal in her hands, like something she wasn't sure she was allowed to hold yet. But there was no fear in it. Just trying to understand how something this big had found her.

"I know no one can take who I am," she said quietly, then glanced up at Noriko with a small, earnest smile. "I'm just still figuring out how to be it with all of this."

She gestured vaguely at the valley, the palaces, the people who called her family without hesitation.

"And thank you," Xian added, the words sincere and a little awed. "For all of it. This is more than I've had in thirteen years. More than I ever thought I would."

She hesitated, then tilted her head, brows knitting just slightly.

"I'm still not clear on how you're my granddaughter," she admitted, not accusing, just genuinely puzzled. "You're older than me. By a lot."

A faint huff of a laugh escaped her as she stepped forward again, carefully placing one foot in front of the other, as Unaga suggested.

"But I'm glad you are."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

"Ah because I am far to pretty to be the older one of our dynamic duo. duh." NOriko said it more as she walked throughout it with a laugh going down the path and there were more people. The palace ahead was similar but carved into the rocks and it went in. With more pathways going further and further into the jungled areas. Pools of reflective waters gleamed as Noriko kept walking and she pointed into the distance for Xian. "There." She said it and pointed towards a large spire of a mountain. "The mountain the palace is built on and into... and all around it canyons and pathways of stone and defenses.. We will have complete privacy and no interruptions... and a whole lot of anti air fighter weapons for flying objects that might try and buzz around."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian snorted softly before she could stop herself, the sound more breath than laugh as she followed a step behind Noriko along the winding path. Her eyes tracked the way the jungle opened and closed around them, the stonework blending so seamlessly into the landscape that it felt less like a palace complex and more like something the mountain had decided to grow on its own.

She glanced at Noriko sidelong when the comment landed, head tilting just a fraction, expression dry but amused.

"I do not know," she said, voice calm but edged with quiet confidence. "I think that argument falls apart if we are both pretty."

Her gaze flicked ahead to where Noriko was pointing, taking in the spire rising from the stone, the layered canyons and carved defenses that wrapped around it like a promise of solitude. There was something grounding about it. Safe. Intentional.

"And if that is the case," Xian added, a faint smile touching the corner of her mouth, "then age does not really help you much in this competition."

She shifted her attention back to the path, boots finding steady purchase as they continued forward.

"Privacy and no interruptions sounds…ideal," she admitted, quieter now. "Especially if the mountain agrees with us."

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

Noriko was looking at her as they all walked and the sounds came from the trees. With a small grin as she listened to Unaga and Xian the scene around shifted as the jungles darkened and deepened. The sound of clashing blades came when she was moving and stood there looking down. In the jungle clearing, surrounded by thick vines and ancient stone ruins, the three Jedi practiced their movements with orange lightsabers under dappled sunlight. The one was moving and her lekku gleamed showing the twi'lek with atrisian features. Her deep cerulean skin covering her athletic, curved frame. High cheekbones, small refined nose, full lips, and large almond amber eyes on her face, accented by golden swirl tattoos on her cheeks and brow.

Two long lekku hang from her head, thick at the base, tapering to fine tips, wrapped with multiple thin golden bands and detailed gold-and-white swirl patterns along their length. She wears minimal golden adornments: ornate cups linked by thin chains across her torso, and a low belt of interlocking plates with dangling chains at her hips. She moves in precise Soresu defense, feet planted in a wide, balanced stance. Her orange blade sweeps in tight circles and vertical blocks, wrists rotating efficiently. Lekku sway in controlled counterbalance with each pivot and step-back, maintaining perfect rhythm with her blade work. She parries incoming strikes with minimal motion, blade returning to center guard instantly.

Noriko nodded as she was looking and turned her head to look at Unaga who gave a nod as she spoke. "Her name is Cat, her father was stationed on Horaai where he met her mother but he only has brought her to meet the rest of the family recently." Noriko gave a nod as she was seeing some of the others there and there were two others. She took in another as her rich bronze skin contrasts with long jet-black hair secured in a high, tight braid that extends to her lower back. Dark brown eyes focus sharply forward. Strong, defined shoulders and muscular arms lead to a toned midriff and powerful legs. She wears a sleeveless training top exposing shoulders, collarbone, and abdomen, paired with fitted dark bottoms.

She advances in Makashi form, holding her orange saber in an extended one-handed grip for precise thrusts. She steps forward smoothly, blade whipping in controlled lunges and flicks aimed at gaps in defense. Her braid swings sharply with each extension, body leaning into strikes while rear foot remains anchored. She disengages with elegant wrist rolls, blade tip tracing tight arcs before resetting to en garde position. Unaga was watching and checking on more of the scene as she gave a nod. "Unaga." Noriko looked at her with a smile on her face and there was a small laugh in her eyes. The third woman was there and moving as the sounds came to her.

The womans deep mahogany skin and short-cropped silver hair in a neat pixie cut framed her face. Bright blue eyes standing out sharply as she channeled the force. Broad shoulders, defined abs, and strong legs mark her powerful athletic build. Black segmented armor-like gear covers her torso, shoulders, and arms with subtle glowing blue accents and web-like patterns; midriff partially exposed, gauntlets and boots reinforced. She executes Ataru acrobatics, leaping between stone surfaces with explosive power. Orange blade rises high for descending strikes, then whips through rapid diagonal cuts upon landing. She twists mid-air, body coiling then extending in fluid spins.

Each jump ends with a solid plant and immediate counter-slash, armor plates shifting slightly with the force of movement while glowing accents pulse faintly. Noriko looked at the girl when Unaga spoke. "From one of the further families, Morellian mother I believe or Kuran but she is a lovely lady." Noriko gave a nod of her head to that. The three maintain a tight triangular formation, orange blades clashing in bright bursts that illuminate nearby foliage, their coordinated movements blending defense, precision, and aggression in continuous drill. Perched high atop a massive, moss-draped boulder that rose like an ancient sentinel from the jungle floor as he commanded the clearing below with an effortless, quiet authority.

The humid air clung to everything, thick with the scent of wet earth, blooming orchids, and the faint metallic tang of recent rain. His tall, powerfully built frame stood barefoot, toes gripping the rough, uneven stone for perfect balance, the cool dampness of the rock seeping into his callused soles. Simple dark pants threadbare at the hems from countless treks across wild worlds hugged the corded muscles of his legs and thighs, the fabric darkened by moisture and patched in places from years of unyielding travel. At his hip hung a single lightsaber hilt, its grip worn smooth by decades of use yet meticulously polished, a silent promise of controlled power.

His face, strong and weathered by time rather than violence, bore the deep-set intensity of a man who had stared into the heart of countless storms. Intense eyes, dark and unblinking, scanned the undergrowth beneath a furrowed brow that spoke of both vigilance and wisdom. Clean-shaven, his jaw remained firm and resolute, the skin unmarred by scars or the passage of blades. Short, dark hair cropped close to his scalp barely stirred in the sluggish jungle breeze, practical and unadorned, framing a countenance that carried the quiet weight of mastery without ostentation. Broad shoulders squared naturally, one hand rested lightly near the saber hilt in an instinctive, almost casual readiness.

Noriko could see his tattoo as it was dramatic, swirling waves crashing powerfully across his pectoral muscles and extending over the deltoid, rendered in deep blacks with bold shading and fine line work for texture and motion. Amid the turbulent sea, a fierce sea monster likely a stylized dragon or mythical beast with serpentine body, sharp claws, and gaping jaws emerges in combat, its scales intricately detailed and eyes glowing with intensity, locked in eternal struggle against the overwhelming force of the ocean. Noriko was looking as him and at the three with a nod of her head before she was turning to Xian. "Well my dads here." She said it with surprise and smile as the jedi turned and looked up at the three with Unaga, Noriko and Xian.

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian slowed almost without realizing she was doing it, her steps softening as the clearing opened up in front of them. The sound of the orange blades caught her attention first, sharp and rhythmic against the jungle's constant hum, and she stopped long enough to just watch.

She had seen training before. A lot of it. But this felt… different.

The three women moved as if they already knew where the others would be, blades flashing close without ever colliding, feet landing where they needed to be without hesitation. Xian's eyes followed them, wide and intent, taking in how one blocked while another advanced, how the third seemed to vanish and reappear with every leap.

"Whoa…" she breathed before she could stop herself.

Then she felt it.

Her gaze lifted, drawn upward, and her posture straightened on instinct when she saw the man standing above them on the stone. He wasn't doing anything at all, and somehow that made it worse. The Force around him felt solid and heavy, not pushing at her, just… there. Watching. Xian swallowed and folded her hands together, fingers lacing tightly.

When Noriko spoke, Xian's head snapped back toward her.

"Well, my dad's here."

Her eyes flicked between Noriko and the man again, and something in her expression shifted into a mix of surprise and sudden understanding. "Oh," she said softly. "That… yeah. Okay. That makes sense."

She stepped forward a little, not quite sure how far was polite, then dipped her head in a small, awkward bow that was clearly done because it felt right, not because she knew exactly how.

"Hi," Xian said, voice quieter now. "I'm Xian. I'm… with Noriko."

Her gaze darted back to the training below, then up again, a little embarrassed but honest. "They're really good," she added. "Like— really good. I've never seen people move like that together before."

She shifted her weight, boots scuffing lightly against the stone path, then looked back at him again, trying to be brave about it.

"I hope we're not in the way," she said. Then, after a beat, her mouth curved into a small, genuine smile. "But I'm kind of glad we walked in when we did."

It wasn't polished.

But it was her.

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

The man looked at the three and spoke. "Are you running in the middle of the ones training?" Noriko looked at him and spoke. "Dad be nice to XIan, she is new and sensitive. She isn't planning to jump in the middle of them... at least I don't think she might just to drive me crazy but then I will just let her get thrown around by three jedi." She said it looking at Xian as the man jumped down and landed there for a moment his chest in front of Noriko before he looked at her. "You grew your hair out." NOriko stiffened but bowed her head. "Yes." He seemed to be looking through her but placed a hand on her shoulder with a look. "And you haven't been eating as much as you should." Noriko looked at him and made a pouting face. "That's cause Xian eats all of it she is like a black hole for food."

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian's head snapped up at that, eyes widening before she even thought about it. She took a quick half-step forward and stamped her foot once against the stone, not hard enough to be rude, but very definitely hard enough to make a point.

"That's not true," she said quickly, a little breathless, cheeks warm. "There's always food. Like… a lot of food. I don't make it disappear."

She hesitated, then added more softly, honest rather than defensive. "I just get hungry. A lot."

Her gaze flicked back to the three Jedi below for a split second, awe creeping back in immediately, then up to Noriko's father again. She straightened without quite realizing it, shoulders back the way she did when she was trying very hard to be respectful.

"And I wouldn't jump into the middle of training," Xian said, then paused, thinking it through. "I mean. Not on purpose."

She swallowed, eyes still bright, still taking in the clearing, the sabers, the man in front of her. "This place is amazing," she admitted quietly. "I've never seen anything like it."

The foot she'd stamped stayed planted, stubborn and small, while the rest of her just stood there, caught between nerves and wonder.

Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao

The man looked at her for a moment. "I see you are one of those who has to respond to every little thing." He looked more as her aas Noriko stepped next to Xian. "Be nice, she is learning." The man turned and spoke. "Hold." He said it commanding but not as a shout as the three stopped mid strike with their blade deactivating. Each of them looking up and over to find him before they were moving and climbing up to stand at the edge of the small drop. Noriko looked at them and offered a nod of her head when she turned to see Unaga and Unaga. Her father speaking. "This is Cat, Unaga and Xhao." He presented each of them.

"UNagaa." He turned his head as she stepped forward and looked aat the three who were there. Taking in the statue of an amazon for an Atrisian who had the same name. "They are all very skilled, a testiment to your training regiment. The two I was given aare skilled but to much like theirr mother. Still I see only potential to bring more honor to the family name." A smile was on her face as she looked over each of them and turned to Xian. "Don't be shy these are your family they will always have a place and time for you." She looked at them and spoke. "Right." The three looking at her and then at the small girl as they gave a nod of theirr head. Norriko's father speaking. "Answer." That seemed to do it as their voices came out in unison. "Yes auntie."

Noriko looked at the three and then her dad as she spoke. "I am so jealous, I can't even get her to jog."